The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of lily plant, botanically known as Lilium L., and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Simplon’.
‘Simplon’ is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objective of creating new lily cultivars having large, white, upright flowers and vigorous growth.
‘Simplon’ was originated from a hybridization made by the inventor in a controlled breeding program in Rijnsburg, the Netherlands in 1984. The male and female parents were unnamed seedlings of Lilium L. oriental hybrids. Both parents are proprietary cultivars used in the breeding program.
‘Simplon’ was discovered and selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of a stated cross by the inventor, Cees A. van der Voort, on Jun. 7, 1984 in a controlled environment in Rijnsburg, the Netherlands.
The first act of asexual reproduction of ‘Simplon’ was accomplished when scales were taken from the initial selection in October, 1987 in a controlled environment in Rijnsburg, the Netherlands by, or under the supervision of, Cees A. van der Voort. Horticultural examination of selected units initiated May 1987 has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for ‘Simplon’ are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.